Chickamauga AOY Update

Hoist 'em high Bryan.

June 14, 2015
by Curtis Niedermier

On the heels of his third consecutive Walmart FLW Tour top-10 finish, Shelby, N.C., pro and 2010 Angler of the Year Bryan Thrift moves into the lead in the 2015 AOY race going into the final event on the Potomac River in LaPlata, Md., June 25-28.

Thrift won the Tour’s fourth stop on Lake Eufaula back in May and followed it up with a ninth-place finish this week on Lake Chickamauga. His AOY point total through five of six events is 945.

As a shallow-water specialist and one of the people to put the ChatterBait on the bass fishing radar, Thrift is expected to do well at the Potomac, where flipping, pitching, tossing topwaters and swimming bladed jigs such as the ChatterBait usually produce top results.

Shallow-Water Specialist Cox Just 9 Points Back

Just nine points back of Thrift, however, is one of the Tour’s most dedicated shallow-water specialists, John Cox of DeBary, Fla., who moves up one spot in the standings following his 12th-place finish on Chickamauga. Cox is fishing this Tour season without a sonar transducer, which more or less limits him to fishing shallow areas. The strategy has worked for him to the tune of four top-20 finishes through five events and 936 AOY points. His worst finish of the season was 31st at the opener on Lake Toho. Cox is also a tournament favorite for the finale on the Potomac.

Former Potomac Champ Martin Moves to Third

In third place is a former Potomac River Tour champion (2012) and an angler who’s won just about every major FLW title except the AOY – Scott Martin. The Clewiston, Fla., pro and 2011 Forrest Wood Cup champion has 914 AOY points, putting him 31 back of Thrift and 22 behind Cox. Martin has four top-20 finishes this season, including a 15th-place finish on Chickamauga.

Strader Slips to Fourth with 77th-Place Finish at the Chick

Despite leading the AOY race since the Tour’s second stop on Smith Lake, and living just 30 minutes up the road from Dayton, Tenn., and Lake Chickamauga, Wesley Strader of Spring City slipped to fourth place in the AOY standings with a 77th-place finish this week. Strader has 895 points, which is 50 points off Thrift’s pace. Strader finished in the top 20 in the first four events of the season.

Three Consecutive Top 20s Propel Davis to Fifth

Rounding out the top five is Dover, Fla., pro Darrell Davis, who has earned 892 AOY points. Davis has made the top 20 in three consecutive tournaments, including fourth place at Chickamauga. He needs to make up 53 points at the finale on the Potomac River.

Top 10 Patterns from Clear Lake

An unwavering commitment to one fish-laden area enabled Kyle Grover to earn his first Costa FLW Series win with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces at the Western Division event at Clear Lake. The tournament was presented by Ranger Boaters and hosted by Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina. READ MORE »

May 20, 2019

2019 BFL All-American Roster

The 98 best boaters and co-anglers from FLW’s grassroots ranks will compete on the Potomac River May 30-June 1 in the 2019 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American presented by General Tire. READ MORE »

May 19, 2019

Top 10 Baits from Clear Lake

Even though cold, windy and rainy conditions challenged the field throughout the event, Clear Lake still showed the caliber of fish that swim in it during the second stop of the Costa FLW Series Western Division season, which was presented by Ranger Boats. READ MORE »

Top 10 Baits from Table Rock

It really didn’t matter what pros threw at Table Rock. The fish were probably going to eat it. Yet, despite a banner practice, things certainly got tougher throughout the Costa FLW Series Central Division event, which was presented by Power-Pole. Thus, pros needed to continually adapt to the conditions with their offerings.Here’s a look at the lures that helped the top 10 anglers. READ MORE »

May 11, 2019

Latimer, Upshaw to Discuss Wins with Radio Host Jerry Kripp

FLW Tour pros Brian Latimer of Belton, South Carolina, and Andrew Upshaw, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, are set to appear on the Outdoor Connection with Jerry Kripp, the evening of Sunday, May 12, to,,, READ MORE »

May 7, 2019

Top 10 Patterns from Lake Chickamauga

The timing of the FLW Tour event at Lake Chickamauga was both a curse and a blessing for the top 10 finishers. There were plenty of fish to be had – and on a multitude of patterns – but the big double-digit females Chick is known for were hard to track down. READ MORE »

May 7, 2019

ROY Update: Lake Chickamauga

We didn’t bother with an update on the Polaris FLW Tour Rookie of the Year race after the fifth stop of the FLW Tour season at Cherokee Lake. At that point, Miles Burghoff had the overall lead in the AOY standings and a 108-point lead for ROY. It looked like it was locked up. READ MORE »

May 6, 2019

AOY Update: Lake Chickamauga

There’s usually some drama at the end of the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race, but often the leading pro has managed to accumulate a pretty good cushion by the final event. This year the cushion is virtually nonexistent. After they booked a win and a fifth-place finish at Lake Chickamauga, respectively, John Cox leads David Dudley by just one point heading into the finale on Lake Champlain. READ MORE »

May 6, 2019

Top 10 Baits from Lake Chickamauga

Most people probably don’t equate Lake Chickamauga to spinning rods and finesse techniques, but both were prevalent during the FLW Tour event presented by Evinrude on Chick. Plenty of pros threw swimbaits, jigs and crankbaits, but the common thread among most of the top 10 is the use of a stick bait (usually wacky- or Texas-rigged) to target bedding or postspawn fish still hanging in the shallows. READ MORE »

May 5, 2019

John Cox Wins FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude

DAYTON, Tenn. – Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, won $100,000 at the FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude Sunday with a four-day total of 83 pounds, 9 ounces. The victory was the fourth FLW Tour win of Cox’s career – moving him to a tie at No. 7 for the most Tour wins all-time... READ MORE »

May 5, 2019

Korostetskyi Crowned Kayak Champ at Nickajack

Bogdan Korostetskyi won the Dee Zee FLW/KBF Kayak Open presented by YakAttack at Nickajack Lake with a two-day total of 174.25 inches of largemouth bass. He caught his winning fish on a ChatterBait. READ MORE »

May 4, 2019

Michigan's Nelson Moves Into Lead at FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude

DAYTON, Tenn. – FLW Tour rookie Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, caught four big largemouth late in the day Saturday to anchor his 25-pound, 15-ounce limit and jump to the top of the leaderboard after Day Three of the FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude in Dayton, Tennessee. Nelson’s five-bass limit was one of just four brought to the scale Saturday... READ MORE »

May 4, 2019

Korostetskyi Leads Kayak Open on Nickajack

Bogdan Korostetskyi leads day one of the Dee Zee FLW/KBF Kayak Open presented by YakAttack at Nickajack Lake with a total catch of 92 1/2 inches. All of his fish were largemouth bass that he caught using aggressive baits on very precise spots. READ MORE »

May 3, 2019

Florida's Greenblatt Takes Lead on Day Two of FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude

Cox Grabs Lead at Day One of FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude

DAYTON, Tenn. – A field of 165 of the best bass-fishing professionals in the world began their four-day competition for a top award of $125,000 at the FLW Tour at Lake Chickamauga presented by Evinrude Thursday in Dayton, Tennessee... READ MORE »

May 1, 2019

Emergency Eye Surgery Derails Horton’s Cup Hopes

On Thursday, for the first time in eight years as a pro and 25 years as a competitive bass angler, Jamie Horton won’t cross the weigh-in stage on a tournament day when he’d planned to compete. Instead, the Alabama pro will be back in his Centerville home recovering from emergency eye surgery to repair a severely detached and torn retina in his right eye. READ MORE »

April 30, 2019

Nichols Wins Southeastern AOY, Shot at Tour

Within the FLW tournament hierarchy, there’s plenty of youth and enthusiasm to go around, but only so many spots on the FLW Tour. That’s why 27-year-old Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., isn’t going to let his opportunity to join the Tour pass him by in 2020. Nichols is the 2019 Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division Strike King Angler of the Year. By finishing in the top five in the division standings, he qualifies to join the Tour next season. READ MORE »